At Greater Hood Memorial AME Zion in Harlem, NY, Thursday night is hip-hop night.
“If you can get past the speakers, and the turntables and the rapping and get the substance of what we’re doing, you’ll get something out of this,” said Tykym Stallings, a youth pastor at the church.
Stallings, whose rap moniker is ‘Malaki Tha Truth,’ says hip-hop’s presence in his church is a way to reach out to younger members of his community.
“This is a movement, something we call urban worship,” Stallings said. “The only thing I can say is come experience it for yourself, before you say we shouldn’t be doing this type of music here.”
Christian rap, also known as holy hip-hop, has struggled to make its mark in an industry dominated by messages that have little to do with religion.
“I think it’s detrimental,” said Lecrae Moore, a Christian rapper currently based in Atlanta, GA. “I think there are tons of stories, tons of realities that are not being depicted because [other rappers] prefer to glorify things like drug dealing.”
Moore, whose album Rehab debuted at no. 1 on the Gospel and Christian album charts earlier this year, said fans shouldn’t expect a drop-off in production or quality when it comes to Christian artists.
“I’m an artist like everybody else is an artist,” Moore said. “But that doens’t mean that the quality of my work should decrease.”
Stallings agrees.
“Look, if the production is not up to par, I’m not rapping to it,” Stallings said. “Honestly, before you hear the words, you hear the music.”
Not all have celebrated rap’s invasion into the pulpit. Rev. Kenneth Van Lew, pastor at Greater Hood, admits there are some who don’t appreciate his efforts to mix the biblical and the lyrical.
“I don’t have a problem with those who believe that this is not something that they would do,” Van Lew said. “But we ought never put God in a box and I truly believe that.”
Stallings is also confident that, despite low turnout recently at hip-hop services, his message will prevail.
“I wish there was only standing room only,” Stallings admits. “But honestly, I believe every Thursday, everyone is here for a reason. And, whether it’s 80 or eight, they’re getting something out of it.”
Follow theGrio’s Todd Johnson on Twitter at @rantoddj
